Steve Jobs is answering his e-mail again, and this time it's in regards to MobileMe. A MacRumors.com reader reportedly e-mailed the Apple chief to complain about MobileMe, and Jobs responded with a promise to improve the service in 2011.

MobileMe is Apple's push sync e-mail, calendar, and contacts program, but not everyone is thrilled with its performance.

"I love my iPad and iPhone 4 and am a huge fan of yours and all that Apple does. I desperately want to stay inside of Apple'e ecosystem as much as possible," the MacRumors reader wrote to Jobs. "However, MobileMe is making it very difficult for me to do so. Unreliable/unpredictable syncing, creating duplicate entries (sometimes scores of them), etc. It's almost unusable. And I know from forums (including Apple's own support boards) that I am not the only one experiencing these very real and frustrating problems. Please tell me it will get better, and soon?

In response, Jobs reportedly wrote "Yes, it will get a lot better in 2011."

MobileMe, meanwhile, has had its share of difficulties. Ever since a rocky July 2008 launch, users have complained about unexpected logouts, slow performance, and service outages. That year, Apple also withdraw an automatic MobileMe add-on from iTunes 8. A hefty pricetag ($99 for one year) also hasn't helped.

But since then, Apple has made some improvements. In 2008 the company quietly resolved most of the outage issues, and enhanced MobileMe's mail, calendar, contacts and gallery services. Apple also added a loading graphic in the mail function so users could see the delivery status of their e-mails. This year, Apple added an iPhone locator app and pulled a revamped Calendar function out of beta.

Only time, hopefully less than a year, will tell whether or not Jobs's e-mail answer was sincere.

Sara Yin is a junior analyst in the Software, Internet, and Networking group at PCmag.com, pouring most of her energy into app testing and security matters at Security Watch with Neil Rubenking. She lies awake at night pondering the state of mobile security (half-true).
Prior to joining PCMag.com, Sara spent five years reporting for publications in New York City (Huffington Post), Hong Kong (South China Morning Post), and Singapore (Campaign Asia, Men's Health).
Follow her on Twitter at @SecurityWatch and @sarapyin, or contact her the...
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